Paul Gray’s resignation letter to HMRC staff:
‘I am announcing today that I will be standing down as HMRC chairman as a
result of a substantial operational failure in the department. The chancellor
will be making a statement to Parliament later today.
This is not the way I would have planned to organise my departure from HMRC.
I had hoped to be around for a while longer, and to have had the continuing
privilege of leading HMRC towards the vision we have been developing. But I am
extremely proud of what all of you in the organisation have achieved during my
time as deputy chairman and chairman.
Our record – for example in achieving sustained increases in tax receipts, in
steadily improving the operations of the tax credit system, and in playing our
full part in protecting the border – is a good one. At the same time, we have
made important steps in restructuring the department to face our future
challenges, delivering more with reduced resources. I know we still face some
major issues where we need to do better. But I am confident the forthcoming
Capability Review report will highlight some major strengths in HMRC, while
giving us helpful steers on how we can improve further.
I am extremely sorry that you may have learned about this first from the
media. I will provide further details after the parliamentary statement.’